Die Fledermaus, playing at 3 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 5, at The College of Saint Elizabeth in Morristown, is a nonstop romp of songs and jokes about self-important characters in a farce of their own creation.

The structure of this BONJ Opera production makes it perfect for the interjection of hot-news items or impromptu witticisms, meaning that you'll never see it performed the same way twice!

The second act ball scene is a collage of cameo solos, and the third act jailer, Frosch —German for ‘frog’ — is played by the delightfully funny Donald Kalbach.

What’s it about? As its overture ends, an off-stage tenor croons his lady love who just happens to be married to a man about to be arrested. Our crooner, Dmitri Zigrino, perfectly interprets the role of Alfred who is very tenor, very Italian and, well, just very.

Naturally Alfred enters the house to be with his lady love, Rosalinda, and this being a farce and all, it is he that gets arrested instead of her husband, Eisenstein.

Anyway, Eisenstein, shows up and before long his friend Falke appears and invites him to attend Prince Orlofsky's party that night. Here we learn of the operetta's title: The Bat. It seems that the year before, Falke had gone to a similar party in a bat costume and gotten drunk. Eisenstein had promised to take him home — but Falke awoke the next morning on a park bench surrounded by strollers laughing at him. The plot? He gets even.

Act two is the most fun act to perform in all of musical theater. We are in Prince Orlofsky's palace ballroom, where absolutely anything can happen. The prince himself is “bored.” But here we have subplots all over the place. Rosalinda’s maid, Adele is in disguise as she’s not only wearing one of her mistress’s gowns, she took the time off due to a "death’" in the family. The masked Rosalinda is wooed by her own husband. She talks him into letting her see his wonderful chiming watch — which swiftly disappears into her cleavage to be used later as evidence later.

Baritone Jason Adamo is a simply wonderful Falke. It is he who sets up the plot and tells us about it, to then sit back and watch the others blunder on.

This debuts Timothy Maureen Cole and Kevin Peters as co-directors of BONJ Opera while also staring as the husband and wife characters Rosalinda and Gabriel Eisenstein. And as both of them excel in both of their capacities, what can one say of them but Bravo!

Soprano Maria Alu as Adele steals every scene she’s in and that’s all of them. Or as she says, “Not only do I get to have a blast emoting and showing off ... I also get to sing the best music in the show!”

And baritone George Spitzer as Frank is positively hilarious.

See the show

Die Fledermaus will be performed at 3 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 5, at The College of Saint Elizabeth in Morristown in the Dolan Hall Annunciation Center at 2 Convent Road. For tickets or more information, call 973-366-8922 or visit www.baroqueorchestra.org/bonjtoyou.